glancaster
In the silicon vale
0-60 is an area where hybrids score over conventional technology. If the electric bit of the car is good for (say) 50bhp, even if it can only deliver it for a couple of minutes, then this plus any modest petrol engine makes for a car that's going to go like the clappers in a 0-60 dash. Round a track, forget it, the battery will go flat and the engine won't have any spare power to put into recharging, so once it's done the first couple of minutes it will perform like a 1300 with 4 passengers and a bootful of luggage.
Yup, and even for a performance measure that hybrids do relatively well at, the GTI is still quicker, with a 0-60 time of 6.2s/6.4s. The Focus ST also beats the GTE. Plenty of fairly unremarkable family cars now have 0-60 times under 10s - this isn't the 80s any more.
The GTE is a warm hatch, with some eco credentials thrown in. Nothing wrong with that per se, of course. Your money, your choice.